A Rival's Denial
by Little Tsu
Summary: (Takes place in Fossil Fighters: Frontier) Masa has been a Warden for a while now and has gotten pretty close with some of her fellow Wardens and the Chiefs as well. However, one such Warden is actually closer to her than any of the others, but will either ever actually admit it? Or will something happen that'll cause them to lose that chance? (Better than it sounds. I hope.x.x)
1. Chapter 1

_Little Tsu: Ok, this is gonna be slow till I finish up a few stories, which I really SHOULD get around ta finishin' instead of bloody comin' up with more new STORIES! Anywho, this is...sorta maybe a test run. I've done a few Fossil Fighters stories before, but none from the latest game, Frontiers, which I absolutely love. In any case, the oc in this story is named Masa, but she's not the same Masa as from the previous stories with her Nychus partner, Raze. Instead, this is actually, the female main character, but I named her Masa in my game. Also, "Nibbles", who I named Raze, isn' actually in this. Instead, my favorite & most used Vivosaur is in his place, which you'll jus' have ta read ta find out who & what he  
_

 _Side note: I had NO idea what ta call this story so sorry for the possibly lame title.x.x"_

 **A Rival's Denial**

 **Ch: 1**

The more she really began to think about this, the more Masa was coming to realize this miiight have been a bad idea...

...Ok, scratch that. This had been a totally reckless and insane idea on her part, but she had a perfectly good reason for it!

She had absolutely thought she could handle exploring the terrain of Starry Falls on her own without any of her Paleo Pals.

After all, she had had her totally kick ass Vivosaurs with her. It was fool proof!

...Ok, so maybe it wasn't totally fool proof and all, but hey!

How did she know that that Lythro would go completely insane and smash right into her Turf Shredder? It completely blindsided her and sent her Bone Buggy spinning out of control!

...Which actually brings Masa to her current predicament...

Sighing softly to herself, the young teen Warden sat there upon the roof of her out of commission Bone Buggy; its dark blue paint job well hidden within the darkness of the small cave she had been spun right into...Which one would suppose that was actually rather lucky of her. Otherwise, she thinks that Lythro would be having her for a snack right about now...

"...I wonder if anyone's out there looking for me?"

A loud, fierce roar just outside of the small cave was heard in practical response towards her question causing Masa to grumble under her breath as she glanced off to the side.

"I didn't mean **you..."**

A low, rumbling hiss was heard right next to her KO'd Turf Shredder, causing her to glance down. When she did, the sapphire haired teen sighed once more and managed to form a faint smile onto her features. All of her Vivosaurs that she had revived were all within the database of her Buggy and with it out of commission, she couldn't bring any of them out.

Well,...not that she really needed to anyways.

Looking up at her from his position in the grass and dirt mixtured ground was a V-Raptor that was laying, curled up there much like a dog would. Of course, he was much more like that of a wolf if one were to really compare the purple Vivosaur as such. In fact, he wasn't even that much bigger in height than one even though his length was around six feet.

In any case, the small Vivosaur that was currently below the girl had been the very one that she had brought with her for protection; the one she had at the forefront other than her other main Vivosaur, Spino. Yes, he was weaker and much smaller in comparison, but Vayne had been with her for quite a while and to be perfectly honest, he was actually her most favorite and closest out of every Vivosaur she had ever revived since becoming a Warden. She always preferred to have him remain out with her since he was small enough and he was more than able to keep up with her Turf Shredder's speed. That's where his specialty really resided.

The sound of a crash resounded within the cave from outside, causing both to drift their gazes towards the entrance. Apparently that Lythro still hadn't given up yet on trying to get to them. It was smashing into the cave's outer walls around the entrance in an attempt to widen it. After all, the entrance to the cave wasn't all that big; just big enough for Masa's Bone Buggy to have spun into it length ways, though the cave was a decent bit more spacious once **inside.** Luckily, the entrance though, was so small or that Lythro would've been snacking on their flesh by now...

Grumbling under her breath, Masa sighed once more before thrusting herself off the roof of her Turf Shredder and landing on the ground below. Plopping herself down into the grass and dirt, she closed her amethyst eyes gently and leaned her back and head against the large off-road tires of her Buggy. As she did though, she soon felt a sudden pressure upon her layed out legs, causing her to open her eyes back up and glance down. Even through the darkness, she was able to faintly see her companion thanks to the stars and moon that bathed the area in a faint light so that it, at least, wasn't pitch black out. Smiling softly, Masa lifted a hand and rested it upon her V-Raptor's head that layed there within her lap as if to provide her with some form of comfort. "Thanks Vayne...We'll be fine boy. Hopefully that distress signal I sent out just before our Buggy went kaput will have gotten back to America's HQ...Normally, I would've tried to get myself out of this mess on my own, but..."

When Masa trailed off at this, Vayne lifted his head and gazed at his human partner. She didn't have to complete what she was saying for him to understand what she meant by it. If she had had her Spino, Barik at the forefront instead, the massive reptile could've easily tore through the Lythro and gotten themselves out of this predicament. However, with his partner's Buggy out of commission, she wasn't able to summon out Spino, drive, or even radio in for help in case that split second distress call didn't go through in time before everything became shot. As of now, they were trapped in a cave within the Whirling Rapids area of Starry Falls and neither knew for how long either.

"...Lets just hope that Sean takes pity on us and doesn't send out Leon for our search and rescue..."

At hearing that sudden added comment to their current situation, Vayne couldn't help but snicker lightly to himself. It wasn't that his human and that Leon human with the Ptera didn't get along. Actually, the two worked better together than they did with almost any other Warden. It was the fact that the male between the two would never let Masa hear the end of it if **he** was the one to come save her. Leon felt a close bond, but also a strong rivalry with Masa so Vayne knew that the human would rub it in her face that he had to come save her from a blunder **she** actually made this time, which almost never happened. His partner was usually more strategic and hardly ever made any mistakes so he knew she was sure to get not only a lecture about going off on her own, but also be embarrassed over what happened.

...It didn't help that his human just might possibly...have a weakness for the Leon human too...

"Vayne, I know what you're thinking and that's **so** not true. I do **not**...like Leon that way."

...Masa definitely did...

As another hour seemed to slip on by them, something finally drew their attention once more outside the cave as they woke from their half rest. The roars and tremors outside of the cave had ceased and instead, the thunderous footsteps seemed to echo from a distance along with what distinctly sounded like the rev of an engine and a screeching cry. It was the cry though, that had followed after the Lythro's roar, that had caused Masa to suddenly bristle up in slowly escalating unease. As the minutes passed, the roars and cries finally ceased and the rumble of an engine gradually approached closer to their location. It was then that the sight of another Turf Shredder, this one purple, appeared in the entrance of the cave they were in. The headlights lowered in brightness so that it was now a soft glow to bath the inside of the cave in instead of a blinding light that hurt their eyes. It was only when the owner of the Bone Buggy stepped out of it, that the gradually increasing unease now turned into flat out horror as leaping onto the ground and stepping towards them was none other than **Leon...**

"Well, well...Look at the mess you've gotten yourself into Masa. I thought you could get yourself out of anything?" The smirk that fell onto his features as his arms crossed over his chest while he stood there just feet away from herself and Vayne said pretty much everything that **didn't**...need to be said...

Leon was absolutely **loving** this...

"Just...shut up and give me the new engine I need..."

"I didn't hear _'please'_..."

Masa's right eye twitched faintly at this as she glowered at the slightly older purple haired Warden. "... **Please**...stop looking like you wanna **gloat** and gimme the new engine!"

A chuckle escaped Leon at that before he finally decided to give Masa a break just this once and made his way back to his own Turf Shredder. Upon having the shot engine replaced with the new one he brought with him for Masa's Buggy, the two Wardens quickly made their way back to the entrance with their Vivosaurs...

Upon finally arriving back at the American HQ, the teens clambered down out of their Buggys while the V-Raptor waited on the ground for his companion; his tail shifting side to side slightly in a manner that would make one think it was wagging.

Sean had been outside with his little sister, waiting for them to return and of course the blond haired young man really gave poor Masa a scolding for the reckless stunt she had pulled that could've very well costed her her life. However, once he finished scolding and yelling at her, the older man suddenly **hugged** her as he nestled his face down into her sapphire hair; his tone softening in that moment. "...I'm so totally relieved that you're alright, Masa...Please don't scare me like that again." Pulling away from the stunned teen, he casted her a weak smile before heading back to go inside and up to his office again with Becky, leaving the two teen Wardens to themselves.

Watching as Sean left, Leon kept a stoic, if not slightly annoyed, expression to his features before turning his gaze onto the slightly younger girl before him with his hands resting in his pants pockets. Save for Vayne, the two of them were pretty much alone now. "You idiot...What were you thinking, going out there on your own like that? You could've gotten yourself badly hurt or even worse. You could've gotten yourself killed!" His annoyed or egotistical facade over this was no longer up. Instead, what showed now, was unrestrained anger. However, there was something else there hidden within his extremely sharp stormy blue grey eyes...Was that...

...fear...?

Biting her bottom lip suddenly at this, Masa tilted her head down and off to the side as she gazed at the ground. "...I thought that Vayne and I could handle it on our own...We were actually doing just fine too, but...then that Lythro blindsided my Turf Shredder so suddenly that I didn't have time to react. Next thing we knew after I sent that split second distress signal, was that we were trapped inside that cave with the Lythro trying to get at us and my Buggy out of commission..." Shaking her head lightly, she sighed lightly in defeat as she drifted her bright amethyst gaze over towards her precious V-Raptor and spoke even more softly this time to where she wasn't even sure if Leon would've heard her or not. "...I couldn't bring myself to risk my Vayne to fight it without the boosters from my Buggy..."

Leon had heard that last bit, however, as a defeated sigh escaped his lips. "Damn it, Masa, just..." Gritting his teeth in frustration, he rested a hand upon his waist and raised the other to brush back and forth along his spiked up purple hair; his eyes closed tightly shut. "Don't...do that...ever again, got it?" Opening his eyes once more, he shot an irritated look towards the Warden that was still looking away from him. Frowning at this, he stomped over towards her to close the distance and reached out as he firmly grasped onto her upper right arm, which effectively jolted her at the contact and jerked her gaze back up at him in startlement. "I know you're tough and strategic, Masa, but don't you dare go off on your own like that again."

"But the other Wardens have..."

"Damn it, forget about the other Wardens! They can do whatever they want in their lives and go about their missions and business! I don't care what they do! All you need besides your own Vivosaurs at your side is me, got it?! **Me!"**

At being told this, Masa's gaze couldn't have gotten any wider than they already were even if she had tried. Had she really just heard right? Leon wanted her to only have him come along with her on all her missions and trips to the Dig Sites? As she tried to wrap her mind around this new bit of information, she suddenly found herself yelping as she was pushed over from behind, effectively knocking herself right into Leon as they stumbled, though the older teen managed to catch her and at least break her fall as they landed on the ground below with a thud.

Groaning softly at this, Masa slowly tried to push herself up a bit from where she layed, but when she shifted her palm to prop herself up, she felt it pressing down against something firm and warm as well as slightly moving. Blinking slightly towards this, she lifted her head up to see what was going on, but then suddenly tensed up when she found herself locking gazes with Leon, whose face was mere inches below her own; his own eyes widened slightly in shock at the position they were in as Masa laid there half way on top of him and her right leg overlapping his own. "L-L-Leon! I'm so sorry! I-"

Before she could finish that frantic apology and attempt to push herself back up onto her feet so that she was no longer on top him, her eyes became filled with shock once more as a gasp escaped her lips that were suddenly covered by something soft and warm. As it quickly clicked in her mind on what was going on, Masa's head began to spin and become fuzzy as she realized that Leon was actually kissing her...Eyes slowly becoming heavy lidded before finally closing, she surprisingly found herself leaning into the kiss as she returned it while one of Leon's hands cupped the back of her neck and the other around her waist to bring her that much closer to him.

After a moment or so, Masa finally managed to get her wits about herself and broke the kiss. However, as she gazed down at him while they both lightly panted for breath, they both realized fully on just what they had been doing and with who, causing them to quickly pull away from each other and scrambling up onto their feet once more. Staring at one another with faint confusion despite the apparent heated look that was most likely within both of the teens' gaze still from the passionate, if not shocking, moment they had just shared, Masa found herself blushing and squirming slightly under his gaze in a way that she had never felt before while Leon was trying to figure out just what the hell to say after something like that.

"Th-That was um..."

"...It was just the heat of the moment."

"Y-Yeah. I-It's not like it meant anything, r-right Leon?"

"O-Oh definitely. I mean, you just recently had a dangerous experience and I was angry with ya towards your total recklessness."

"And V-Vayne knocking us over d-didn't really help either..."

"Uh yeah...So um..."

"S-See you around when another mission is given?"

"Oh yeah...So uh...see you then, partner."

With that, the two rivals quickly parted ways and hurried off; Leon to his room for the remainder of the night and Masa, along with Vayne, returning back to Fossil Park Asia...

 **To be continued.**

 _Little Tsu: Ok, so that was it. This chap actually had a sliiightly different endin' ta it, but I redid it ta make a bit more sense towards the title and also, hopefully, towards Leon's overall personality since in the game, it's kinda obvious that he feels more than a rivalry with the female main, but that he's in utter denial of it._


	2. Chapter 2

_Little Tsu: Ok so needless ta say, here's the next chap since I don' wanna disappoint my reviewers of this story, so this is for MissMissive & AriaPsiana389._

 _On a completely different note: ...Anyone notice how V-Raptor looks a LOT like Randal from Monsters Inc.? Or am I the only one that's realized this?x.x"_

 _Hope everyone else enjoys too!_

 **Ch: 2**

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

Stepping out as the elevator doors slid open, Masa set foot into leader, Liu Ren's office. She had actually been keeping herself as busy as possible with missions around Fossil Park Asia and Europe over the last week. However, it wasn't just Fossil Park America that she was refusing to set foot in due to the obvious awkwardness that would come about if she were to run into Leon there, but Masa even went so far as to avoid partnering up with him on missions that she'd been sent on. Instead, she always brought Sasuke, Elric, or both with her. There had been rare times that she brought Nathan, Hanzo, Lucky, or even Frett along with her, but there were some that she just got along with better than others. If she hadn't been refusing to set foot in Fossil Park America, Masa was pretty sure that Sean would've wanted to tag along on a mission as well though. In other words, she teamed up with any of the guys that she had a good bond with in order to avoid Leon.

Anyways, back to the current situation.

Liu Ren glanced up from the paperwork on his desk and casted a smile as he spotted Masa and her V-Raptor, who towered over his human by nearly a head. "Yes, actually. Thank you again for coming, Masa, Vayne." Rising up onto his feet, he stepped out from behind his desk and walked towards them till he was only a few feet away now. "To be honest, we have a bit of an issue here. Lately, there's been an increasing incline of Rouge Vivosaurs roaming around Lantern Lake. Usually, this isn't all that big of a deal as they can be handled relatively well for Wardens and other Fossil Fighters. However, we've gotten word from a number of Fossil Fighters that these Rouges are much more violent and also stronger as well. With the amount of danger they possess, that puts the safety of others at risk."

"So you're wanting us to reign in those more violent Rouges then?"

The leader of Fossil Park Asia nodded his head slightly and smiled towards her again. "Exactly. You may take whoever you wish with you, but do take some precaution. From what I was told, one of the more violent Vivosaurs is a Tarbo."

Hearing that last bit, Masa thought for a moment as she ran the name over in her mind. Tarbo were air element that was closely related to both of the T-Rex Vivosaurs; both of which, she had fought before in the wild. This mission wasn't going to be an easy one if there happened to be more than one especially violent Tarbo causing trouble...

It almost made her faintly worried on what the other violent ones were that she was being sent out to reign in...

Finally snapping out of it, Masa nodded her head and gave a faint salute before turning around with Vayne and heading into the elevator. "Don't worry about a thing, sir. Just leave it to me and my team." With that, the duo vanished behind the closing doors.

Stepping out of the Headquarters of Fossil Park Asia, Masa finally released a sigh and shook her head as she casted a glance towards Vayne, whose head was tilted to the side just faintly so that he returned said glance. "Looks like we'll be busy for a while over at Lantern Lake if those extra violent Rouges are scattered all over the Dig-Site...If that's the case, whichever Paleo Pal we choose might end up needing to split up with us once on location so we can hopefully get things under control more quickly."

Vayne released a low, rumbling growl deep in his throat as he nodded his head slightly in agreement towards what his human was saying. He then thought for a moment before finally actually shifting on his powerful legs and attempted to release a big roar despite his size and the mere fact that his kind usually more or less hissed. The deep purple Vivosaur was trying to communicate with more than mere expressions in order to offer up his own suggestion on who they could bring. In this case, he was at least **trying**...to mimic that of an F-Raptor.

Cocking her head slightly to the side as her sapphire hair shifted faintly, Masa seemed to pick up on what Vayne was actually trying to tell her and chuckled softly. Especially, since his attempt at a big roar came out rather comically high pitched and almost squeaky, causing some Fossil Fighters to jolt slightly and glance towards them in startlement on just what the heck that sound was. "Vayne, I think you should maybe give up on trying to roar like the large carnivores do." At the suddenly embarrassed blush that colored his scaled muzzle and his head ducking down slightly in an attempt to hide it, the teen Warden laughed openly at how cute he tended to sometimes act. "I know what you were trying to tell me though. You're suggesting we bring along Sasuke, right?" When she got a nod from him, she smiled and brought out her Warden Gear as she checked the statuses of each of her Paleo Pals.

"Hm...Ok, looks like Sasuke's not busy with anything. His current status says that he's free right now so looks like we're in luck this time." As she saw what a few others were up to, Masa seemed hesitant to tap one screen of the Paleo Pal that was at the top of her most often partnered with selection. Biting her bottom lip, she finally tapped the image, causing Leon to pop up with his current status. _'...Leon's currently on a mission...That's a relief. At least he seems to be keeping himself busy and not worrying...'_ At that last bit, she shook her head roughly and switched off her gear before pocketing it. _'What am I saying? There's nothing to worry about at all and it's not like that incident even meant anything...'_ As Masa headed off towards where the Bone Buggies were all stationed though, to get into her's, she couldn't help but have one last little thought slip into her head towards the subject she had been both denying and running away from...

 _'...I say that, but then...why am I running...?'_

"-sa."

 _'Wha?'_

"Masa. Do you have business to discuss with me or not?"

"Oh!" Blinking slightly in surprise, her amethyst eyes widened in emphasis of her reaction. She hadn't even fully realized she had gotten into her Turf Shredder nor had actually contacted up Sasuke as he was staring at her through the visual com. "S-Sorry! I was thinking about something and I guess I wasn't really aware of my surroundings, Sasuke." Blushing faintly as a sheepish look appeared onto her features, Masa seemed rather embarrassed and the slightly deadpanned look within Sasuke's sharp dark crimson eyes only seemed to make her suddenly wanna crawl in a hole somewhere.

"...You've been acting strangely for the past week, Masaru..." When he saw the faint flinch from the younger girl, he knew that he had hit the nail on it. Sighing softly, he shook his head. "Listen, far be it for me to stick my nose into your business, but if you've got a problem,...I suppose I can lend an ear..." At the sudden look of shock, he sighed again and gave her an unamused look. "What? I may have started out this partnership through means of you having paid me upfront when we first met to make me your Paleo Pal and offer up my services to you, but that was over a year ago now...I think we've gone passed that by now and become...friends, at the least..."

Still surprised by what all Sasuke said along with the fact that he had actually used her full first name, something knowone but her parents ever did, Masa finally snapped out of it and nodded her head lightly. "...Thanks, Sasuke...I'm fine though, really. Just been a bit stressed, I guess. Even with Dr. Blackraven and the BR Brigade finally gone for good this time, the amount of work for a Warden hasn't lessened in the slightest bit."

"...Well, you **have** been overworking yourself...Maybe it's about time you take a little break soon...In any case, back on track here. What did you contact me for exactly? I doubt it was for idle chitchat, Masa."

"Oh right, sorry about that. Er...again. I called cause I received another mission. Apparently the increase of Rouge Vivosaurs over at Lantern Lake has increased, but these are actually a lot more violent and powerful than the ones usually roaming around. It's causing some problems and if it keeps up, there's bound to be a number of casualties from normal Fossil Fighters that get attacked by said Rouges and we'll be forced to close down that Dig-Site."

"So in other words, your job is to track down the more violent rouges and take them out?" When he received a nod in confirmation of it, Sasuke nodded lightly in return as he understood the situation. "Alright, so let me guess. You contacted me to ask if I could partner up with you and help, right? I highly doubt you contacted me in order to let you speak with my little brother since I know you're Paleo Pals..."

"Heheh...Yeah, no. I wasn't trying to get a hold of Hanzo. I was wanting to ask you. Are you and F-Raptor up for it?"

"Of course. This will be excellent exercise for him and on top of that, perhaps there will be a Fossil Fighter or two out at the Dig-Site that needs help with the Rouges and will pay me to save them." Smirking to himself from behind his mask, Sasuke refrained from chuckling as that would've given it away, though he knows he already did just by the mere mention towards what he said last. "I'll meet you there at Lantern Lake then, Masa. Don't keep me waiting or I'll start your mission without you." With that, he cut communications for the time being.

Rolling her eyes towards all this, Masa sighed softly and shook her head in slight amusement. "That Sasuke. Always thinking about money. Hn...Speaking of the mission though..." Shifting to her list of revived Vivosaurs, she scanned through the selection with a thoughtful expression upon her features. Vayne was constantly with her regardless, but unlike how the others were always transported out onto the field, Vayne was never within her Turf Shredder's database. He was her companion through everyday life; not just through battles. "Hm...Who to take with us, Vayne...Barik is our strongest in brute strength, but he's already maxed out in training, just like you are so he doesn't have anymore room to grow. Hm?...Oh, I know who to choose..."

With a smile on her lips, Masa pressed the image of the Vivosaur that she chose to come with her and Vayne before turning on her Bone Buggy and heading off quickly to Lantern Lake with Vayne running quickly along side of her; easily keeping up thanks to his speed. After all, they couldn't keep Sasuke waiting. He never had been one for much patience.

Upon finally arriving inside the gate entrance to Lantern Lake, Masa instantly spotted the black and white Speed Demon, the Bone Buggy of Sasuke's personal preference, just up ahead as his F-Raptor rushed in and slammed his thick skull into a Rogue Mihu; the Vivosaur effectively being sent flying through the air before smashing into the ground in defeat. Snapping herself out of it, the teen drove over to Sasuke's side as his F-Raptor turned around casually and released an almost thunderous roar. "Looks like you're already working on taking care of the stronger Rogues. Your F-Raptor looks to have actually gotten even stronger despite only seeing him just a few days ago, heh."

"Of course he has. Unlike some, I don't laze about. That won't bring in the cash, after all." Sasuke then shook his head on the com screen within Masa's Turf Shredder before turning his head to stare out his side window. "I don't know about you, Masa, but the instant I entered this Dig-Site, I sensed something off. I can't tell what the cause is though, but whatever it is, it's most likely the reason behind the Rogues acting out more violently and why they seem stronger too..."

"...Now that you mention it,...I **am** getting this really strange feeling...VR, can you detect anything that doesn't seem to belong here?"

There was silence for a few seconds, but then a few beeps sounded off before VR-00M spoke up. "I detect a strange reading coming from Xuan Wu Peak. Something is releasing energy waves that are causing the Rogues to go berserk."

Masa sighed softly to herself towards her and Sasuke being told this and shook her head. "Oh great...Why does this sound so very distinctly like something the BR Brigade would pull off? They better not be trying to make a comeback..."

"...No, I don't think this is their work. You and the other Wardens had defeated Dr. Blackraven for good and destroyed him nearly a year ago now. If this **is** their work though, I would think that it's merely someone trying to stir up trouble for others for their own amusement..." Sasuke didn't need to say the name of who he thought would be capable of pulling something like this. After all, there was only one major member that got away from being captured since Dr. Blackraven was dead and Olga had been under some sort of brainwashing...

Wincing slightly at the thought of who Sasuke was possibly referring to, Masa knew that it was entirely possible if that was the case. Her sapphire ponytail seemed to droop forward faintly towards this thought before shaking her head to clear her mind. Narrowing her amethyst eyes in determination as she fell into Warden Mode, she nodded her head lightly. "Alright. Right now, we need to focus on reigning in some of these violent Rogues first. Especially, if there's the off chance that some people are still out here, unable to escape them. Lets split up from here and then meet up at the top of Xuan Wu Peak, Sasuke."

Smirking slightly from behind his mask, his dark crimson eyes narrowed even sharper than they naturally were in anticipation of what this mission would bring. "Understood, Masa. Just make sure you don't underestimate these Rogues. It'd be pretty embarrassing if you got beat by any of them, after all." Then, before his Paleo Pal could retort on that, he ended communications with her and slammed on the gas pedal as he jerked his wheel around, causing his Speed Demon to kick up a cloud of dirt as he sped off quickly with his F-Raptor rushing off after him.

Watching as Sasuke burned rubber to start getting the Rogues back under control, Masa rolled her eyes before drifting her gaze towards where Vayne was standing next to her Turf Shredder. He wasn't the one that she had decided to take with her to do most of the fighting, but he was the only one of her preferred Vivosaurs that remained forever out of the Vivosaur Database within her Bone Buggy. "Alright, Vayne. Lets get busy ourselves and get these Rogues back under control!" When she received an eager hissing cry from her best friend in response, she chuckled and quickly rushed off to get things calmed back down.

* * *

A fierce cry resounded around the large ledge that spiraled upwards around Xuan Wu Peak before a Tarbo was sent smashing into the cliff side by an exceedingly long tail via a Rolling Whip attack. Growling low in a weakened tone within its throat, the fierce carnivorous Vivosaur slowly raised their head, only to lock crimson eyes with the piercing, narrowed violet ones of their attacker as they towered over its own slouched over form. Releasing another rumbling growl, the Tarbo finally closed its eyes in defeat and succumbed to unconsciousness.

Sighing softly in relief towards that battle finally ending, Masa stared out through her windshield towards the massive, grey skinned Vivosaur before her. "Great job there, Cedre. I was a little concerned for a moment since you were at an elemental disadvantage, but you really tanked it out like I'd hoped you would." Beaming brightly in pride towards her precious Vivosaur, she watched as the Diplo twisted his long neck around to glance down and behind himself at his human that was safely within her Bone Buggy before he released a happy cry towards her in response. She knew that her only herbivore loved it when he was praised for his hard work. Sure she mostly used only carnivorous Vivosaurs, Vayne and Barik being prime examples of that, but back when she was still a fresh Warden, she had revived a Diplo from some fossils she had found while visiting Yodel Hills on a mission for the first time. The moment Cedre had been revived, she had felt the same thing she felt when first meeting Vayne as her very first revival just before she became a Warden; she felt the connection.

Pulling herself out of her memories of the time that seemed so long ago now, Masa raised her head as she tried to see how far she was from the peak from her current location. "Cedre, Vayne, we need to continue on. We're almost at the peak now and the sooner we get there, the sooner we can stop whatever's causing the Rogue Vivosaurs to go berserk." At hearing the understanding slight cries of her two Vivosaurs, she quickly, but carefully, maneuvered her Turf Shredder around and between her Diplo's tail and legs with Vayne jogging after her in the same pattern; Cedre only finally beginning to make a move to follow once he knew both were safely ahead of him so he wouldn't accidentally hit them with any portion of his body. Upon finally arriving at the peak, Masa instantly spotted the cause of the Rogues' violence. A machine that looked similar to that of a radio tower was off towards the side and releasing waves of energy that seemed to cause discomfort for the Rogues of the Lantern Lake. Narrowing her eyes towards this, she was about to instruct Cedre and Vayne to take out the tower, but all commands quickly became stuck in her throat at the chuckle that she suddenly heard.

"Well, now...Looks like my little plan worked after all. Then again, I knew it would." Casually driving out from behind a set of large boulders, a menacing looking tannish colored Turf Shredder appeared and faced Masa and her two Vivosaurs that were out. It was only then, that an even more familiar face appeared onto her com screen, causing her to instantly tense up. The sight of her expressive eyes widened in shock and well hidden dread caused him to chuckle softly again. Even with one side of his face concealed by a mask, it was more than enough to still see the amusement on his face; his messy spikes of shoulder length black hair falling into and around his sharp features. "Nice to know that I haven't lost my touch in being able to lure you, of all Wardens, in Masa."

"K-Kowloon..."

"Ah, so even after nearly a year has passed, you still remember my name. Such a thrill to know that the one person that was able to defeat me so soundly still has me within her memories. Tell me, Masa. Do you still have nightmares of that final night?"

Seeing the sadistic grin etching itself upon his features at his own question, she bit her bottom lip slightly in an effort to calm herself back down. It wasn't that she actually feared Kowloon. Oh no, he had a completely different effect on her. His sadistic personality and dark, sinister appearance actually made him a rather attractive man and it didn't help that he still managed to hold an air of mystery about himself too. Even as a Warden, she wasn't blind to such knowledge. In fact, she doubted there were too many girls that **wouldn't** be lured in by him. Still, as a Warden and one of the best out of all the Fossil Parks, she held a lot more self control. That and, though she was still in absolute denial of it, she already had her heart in the firm clutches of another even though he was in total denial of it all as well.

Finally managing to get her wits about herself, Masa suddenly narrowed her eyes as she tightened her grip on the controls within her Bone Buggy. "What is it you want, Kowloon? You out for revenge for what happened to Dr. Blackraven and the fall of the BR Brigade?" It was only when he tilted his head back and laughed loudly towards her questions that frustrated confusion now fell onto her soft features.

Just what was so funny?!

"Oh, that's amusing coming from you, Masa. Do you honestly think I cared about what happened to Dr. Blackraven and the BR Brigade? Not hardly. I was only with them because I wanted power; I wanted **control**. Blackraven's plot to take over this disgusting world that we live in met with my desires so I gave him my aide. However, your Commander, Stryker, had stopped his plans and placed him in jail for years the first time and after I helped break him out with Olga, who was still under the brainwashing's control, you were there every step to get in our way and stop us." His amusement then darkened as his crimson eyes narrowed slightly; his tone dropping lower in a dead serious and tightly concealed angered tone. "...In the end, you're the one who stopped our plans, broke free that weak-minded Olga from the brainwashing, and even destroyed Blackraven despite all that power he gained through that mutated transformation into that monstrous, dark energy filled Vivosaur..."

Brows knitted in gradually growing confusion towards everything that Kowloon was telling her. He always was one to boast and rant when he felt like he was in the mood to do so. However, she still didn't understand why he was telling her this at all. Especially, after almost a year since the BR Brigade's final defeat. Before Masa could open her mouth to ask though, Kowloon seemed to have known what she was about to say, because he spoke up again.

"I'm laying this all out to you, because you were the one to finally put an end to Blackraven's plans for good; the only one to beat me and my Zinodious with almost no effort at all. You made me so frustrated and furious at every turn whenever we crossed paths and yet you still remain the enigma that I can't get out of my mind no matter how hard I try..."

"Wh-What?!"

At the shock that abruptly appeared onto her features now, a sadistic grin fell onto his features once again at the sheer pleasure of knowing he had caused such a reaction, and the fact that he could see the faint traces of panic within those bright amethyst eyes that she desperately tried to hide from his sharp gaze made it all the more pleasing to him. "Destroy the machine if you so wish to, Masa. I have no further use of it since it did exactly what I had intended for it to do...Make no mistake though, Masa...This won't be the last time you see me. I have big plans for you..." With that, Kowloon had his Turf Shredder release a smoke bomb that concealed him from view and vanished all together while his sadistic laughter rang out all around her.

Moments after he had vanished, Masa was still frozen within her own Turf Shredder, not even coming to at the roaring sound of the engine that could only come from the Speed Demon type Bone Buggy. It was only when she finally heard Sasuke's voice yell out over the com link, that she jolted out of it and jerked her slightly panicked gaze towards the view screen where her Paleo Pal was staring back at her with an extremely rare look of concern within his sharp eyes. "S-Sasuke...S-Sorry. What was it you were saying? I-I didn't even know you arrived up here..."

"I only just arrived at the peak. What the hell happened here, Masa? You look like you had practically seen a ghost and the machine still hasn't been destroyed yet either."

"I...I'll...tell you later, Sasuke. For now, lets just...destroy this tower and get back to the Fossil Park...I suddenly don't feel so well..." Shaking her head slightly as she tried to brush off Sasuke's insistence on telling him now, she flipped off the com link and called out for her V-Raptor to use Raptor Shot and her Diplo to unleash Shock Wave, to which they all had to brace themselves for against that move even though Cedre focused his attack solely on the tower with only the slight vibrations of the attack resounding around them. Sasuke's F-Raptor had stayed back since he didn't have any attacks that didn't involve charging his opponent.

Watching as the tower sparked before exploding from the force of the two attacks, the disturbing waves ended and thankfully, that would mean the Rogue Vivosaurs returning to normal again rather than being out on a rampage. With the mission complete, both Masa and Sasuke turned their Bone Buggy's around and headed back to the entrance, though of course not before returning their earth elemental Vivosaurs back into their Buggys' database...

Upon returning back to Fossil Park Asia, Masa thanked her friend for the help and promised him that she'd explain what happened after she got some rest. Truthfully, she honestly just didn't want to think about it right now. Once she had given her report to Liu Ren, while effectively leaving out a very specific piece of info, the teen Warden excused herself and returned to her room for the evening with Vayne right on her heels.

Stepping into her room as the door automatically slid open, she instantly went over to her bed and fell onto the soft mattress on her back as the door closed behind her V-Raptor, who walked slowly over to the bed and actually climbed onto it. Masa couldn't help but silently thank whoever gave her a king sized bed cause if it had been the usual sized ones that were seen in the other rooms, she highly doubted both she and Vayne would fit on the bed comfortably...Then again, she was still surprised that it was able to even hold both their weights, period. Sighing softly to herself, she tilted her head faintly to the side as she drifted her amethyst gaze over towards Vayne, who was now curled up much like a canine would right next to her and lazily raised a fingerless gloved hand as she stroked the side of his head, causing him to actually close his eyes and release a low, rumbling purr. "There's a good boy...I'm so lucky to have you as a partner, Vayne..."

Slowly opening up his magenta eyes at his human's gentle voice, he tilted his head further into her palm as he nuzzled it with his snout while still purring. He was silently telling her that he was glad to be here as well and that he would forever remain at her side no matter what. After all, if Vayne was anything he was best known for around the Parks, it was that he was fiercely loyal to his precious Warden and would do anything for her without even an instance of hesitation...

As he watched Masa return her gaze back towards the ceiling above them, he studied her expression carefully as her hand finally fell away from his head to rest back on the bed. It was only when he saw the faint signs of distress within her young features that he shifted one of his clawed hands over her own delicate one that had been caressing his face earlier and gently curled his claws around it in his form of holding his human's hand as a show of comfort. It seemed to work somewhat though, cause she slowly relaxed a bit again and actually shifted her hand over within his to return the grasp before her eyes slowly closed in an effort to apparently rest. The normally predatory gaze of the V-Raptor softened ever so faintly as he listened to Masa's gentle breathing that indicated she had, indeed, fallen asleep, Vayne finally shifted a bit closer to his human without disturbing her nor releasing her hand from his grasp and gently layed his head down to rest the side of it against the side of her torso.

Once comfortable enough, his own eyes slowly closed as he, too, fell into a light slumber to the gentle sound of Masa's breathing and heartbeat...

 **To. Be. Continued**

 _Little Tsu: Ok, so that's the second chap. I think this one was a bit more suspenseful than the first, but that's up ta you readers ta decide on what ya think of it. Kowloon has made himself known once again & seems to actually have plans for Masa. Like she didn't already have enough problems & stress with the 'Leon issue'. Now she's gotta deal with Kowloon too. What's the poor Warden ta do?_

 _Side note: I thought this would be a good idea, cause 1. Kowloon escaped & was never captured at the end of the game so I figured he was still out there somewhere & 2\. He's a sadistic bastard, a hot one, but still sadistic as all bloody hell, but he also seemed like the type ta have a very faint masochistic streak in him. I thought that since the main protagonist, Masa, was the only one(not countin' Stryker) ta defeat him, he'd have this twisted fascination towards her cause he'd never met anyone like her before._

 _Plus, this'll make Leon all frustrated & everythin'...He's so cute when he's flustered with irritation or anger. lol_

 _Anyways, review please. It encourages me ta write more!_


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